Gray Area
by CatchingWind
Summary: After saving Dani, Valerie is left struggling for the truth. What can she do after everything she thought she knew has been shattered? She's after Vlad for revenge and answers, but everywhere she turns, more doubts and questions arise. Maybe with the help of the one person she thought she would never trust again, she can find the answers she's looking for.


**Inspired by "D-Stabilized." And this will not be DxV. It will not have any pairing at all. 'Nuff said.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom**

Gray Area

The hardest part of being a hunter is lying in wait. Being so patient that you don't move a muscle for hours on end. Never breaking your concentration on your target. Reminding yourself that all of your hard work will pay off in the end once you've reached your goal. Valerie Gray was never one to sit still and remain in place for long periods of time, but for this purpose, she would make an exception.

She'd posted herself outside City Hall, leaning up against the limestone building and pulling off her most casual look. For this occasion, she'd dressed in jeans and a green blouse, her hair pinned up in a bun and black flats covering her feet. She'd even swiped a pair of her dad's old glasses to finish off the disguise. She couldn't let her target recognize her, or this whole mission would be over.

And there he was.

Now, she'd never really been the best at covert operations, but she did her best to blend in with the crowd as her man strode along the sidewalk, black leather suitcase swinging back and forth. She pretended to text on her device that they dare call a phone. She feigned being lost. She acted like she was searching for someone. Anything to pull this off.

This little game of cat and mouse pursued until they reached the residential district of town. Unfortunately, there were far less people in this area, making it more difficult to blend. _If only I could turn invisible, like…_ she began, but instantly shoved the thought from her head. No. She had to focus.

They were just about to turn the corner when…

"Well, somebody's on a mission, hmm, Val?"

She swore she jumped almost three feet in the air when the voice appeared behind her. She turned to see Danny Fenton, whose blue eyes were glimmering with amusement. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets and a playful smirk was evident on his face. Just the kind of thing she'd fallen for ages ago, but had gotten over.

"I'm not doing anything!" she shot back defensively. "And how did you recognize me?"

He simply shrugged. "I guess I'm just good at looking past disguises. And I never said you were doing anything, but now that you mention it…" He stood on his tiptoes to look over her head and saw the retreating form of a tall man with silvery gray hair. Suddenly, his grin morphed into an expression of disgust. "What are you doing tracking _Vlad_? And what are you doing here? I thought you lived on the other side of town."

She was surprised at the amount of malice he injected into his tone when he mentioned her target's name. The only person who she could think of that would do the same thing was…

_No! That's not your focus!_ she admonished silently.

Danny had begun to tap his foot, acting impatient. "Well?"

She hesitated for a split second before coming up with a lie. "Well, I just _love_ our mayor so much," she fawned, trying not to be too melodramatic, "and I was going to ask him a question, but I keep losing the bravery, and so I've been following him." She glanced over her shoulder only to find that the man had disappeared in the horizon. Internally, she cursed. Stupid Fenton ruining her perfect tailing…

"You do, huh?" said the boy monotonously. He looked down and kicked half-heartedly at a loose stone. "What was your question?"

She floundered. She hadn't expected him to further investigate. "I… uh, just wanted to know how he plans on updating the city's anti-ghost enforcements. After all, I just want to stay safe."

His eyes widened slightly, and he nodded once in understanding. "I see."

What she didn't add, however was that not only did she want to stay safe, but she wanted everybody to stay safe, too. And how anti-ghost enforcements could hurt the part of Vlad that he didn't know she knew about.

The two stood in awkward silence for a couple of seconds, and she began do plan of how she might be able to still tail the mayor with her ghost-hunting gear. Well, that was until Danny spoke up again.

"Look, I know you don't see ghosts as _good_, per say," he began slowly, not meeting her eyes, "but not all of them are _evil_. If you know what I mean, I guess."

She raised a single eyebrow. Where was this coming from? This was the son of two ghost-hunters giving her advice on ghosts' personalities. Since when did he care? And what did he mean by his statement?

She could only manage to mutter something in the form of a sort-of agreement. "Um, it was nice seeing you and all, but it's gonna take awhile to get home, and since you kind of ruined my chance…"

His eyes grew big again. "Oh, yeah! Sorry about that. But, yeah, I understand. Will I see you at school on Monday?"

She nodded eagerly. "Definitely!"

They bade each other farewell, and she watched as he sauntered away. She ducked into an alley and activated her black and crimson ghost hunting gear. It was a bit selfish and a bit risky using her hoverboard to get all the way to Elmerton, but her dad expected her home by 6:30 on this particular night so they could have dinner together. This would be one of the few nights that he was actually home to eat with her, and she wouldn't miss it for the world.

Her father. She loved him more than anything on Earth, and she knew that he could trust him with anything. After all, he had kept her side job a secret for all this time and he'd allowed her to do it, despite the risks. But while she usually did tell him about her ghostly excursions, she'd kept her little adventure from a couple weeks ago a secret. To be honest, she wasn't even sure if she _could_ tell him, because she'd yet to figure it out.

The whole battle still baffled her. It seemed to destroy everything she'd grown to believe over the time she'd been a hunter in a matter of mere minutes. That ghosts were evil. That humans didn't associate with ghosts. That Danny Phantom was a manipulating monster. That Vlad Masters was as innocent as he appeared to be.

The last two bothered her the most, especially the one about Vlad. She was the kind of girl who hated to be proven wrong, and she despised it when her beliefs were obliterated into bits and pieces that she couldn't put back together and salvage. She was never good at accepting something different from what she thought to be true, and this was one of those times.

Part of her was still refusing to believe that she'd been played by that sleaze ball of a mayor, but the other part was ready to accept that fact and get right down to the business of revenge. She so badly wanted to zap his ghostly hide to the next dimension, but she wanted answers as well. After all, why her? It was hard to believe that he wanted somebody as young and inexperienced as her to do his dastardly evil. It was tearing her apart at the seams, and she couldn't find an answer.

And the ghost kid. What was up with him? He'd made her question everything the night they rescued his cousin. And she was still wondering about who he really was. That Phantom was hiding something, and she knew it. She just couldn't seem to place her finger on it…

She couldn't stand this uncertainty. She should just believe something and stick to it.

And yet… how could she when it seemed that everything she thought she knew was wrong?

**Bad start, I know. Live with me!**

**Depending on response, I may continue this or I may not. If you want me to, shoot me a review, and I'll definitely read it.**

**And I'm pretty open to ideas for this, so if you have one, also send a review, and I'll take it into consideration.**

**Tell me what you think!**

**-CatchingWind**


End file.
